


The Wedding Show!  Episodes 7-9

by Casey (nic)



Series: The Wedding Show [4]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Angsty Schmoop, M/M, Reality TV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-16 14:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7271212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nic/pseuds/Casey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They'd been on a winning streak...until now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jensen was tired. Oh so very tired. Tired of Gretchen's endless perkiness, tired of 6am make-up calls, tired of fake enthusiasm. This morning was "Create your flower arrangements!" and he really couldn't handle any more exclamation marks. Too much. Was it possible to have perkiness fatigue?

He leaned heavily against Jared as the van drove them to the studio. Jared was one of those freaky morning people - apparently it came from having to be up at the crack of dawn to walk his dogs every day. 

"You doing okay, Jen?"

"No," he mumbled into Jared's shoulder. "M'sleepy."

Jared reached around with his huge arm and pulled Jensen close. "Then sleep. I'll wake you when we get there." 

"Y' so sweet," he managed. He nuzzled closer, inhaling the delicious scent that was pure Jared. (Freshly showered Jared, even better.) 

He thought he felt a soft kiss to his temple. It was nice, whatever it was. The craziness was serving its purpose of making them closer all the time: the more stressful situations they endured together, the more it seemed like it was Jared and Jensen versus the world. The one person in the house who ‘got’ him, who stood by him even as they were threatened by the weekly eliminations. 

It was nice seeing Jared first thing in the morning. And Jensen was starting to realise how much he would miss him if they were eliminated. (Not that he could let that happen. Sure, they’d now had their first failure, but so had a lot of teams who were still in the running.) 

“We’re gonna kick ass today.” Jared was speaking softly and Jensen didn’t know if it was to him, or just trying to pep himself up. He smiled in agreement. 

“Yeah.” 

They weren't going to lose again. 

\---

"Dammit!" Jared yelled, kicking the car tyre. The task had seemed simple enough. Visit three wedding reception venues in one afternoon, collecting a menu and a quote from each. It seemed they'd breeze through it until they'd managed to get stuck behind an overturned semi-trailer on the freeway at peak hour. The first place had been booked out for the next 2 years, and the second place took one look at them and told them they had no interest in taking part in a reality tv show. By the time they'd made it to the third reception venue, the office was already closed for the day and they'd had to beg the manager for five more minutes of his time. 

As a result, the quote they had was useless (they hadn't discussed any of the specifics beyond anticipated number of guests), they had no idea of the what the venue actually looked like (because the sun was setting) and now, on the way back to the studio, the car had managed to get a flat tyre. 

The suspicious part of Jensen's mind jumped to sabotage. He wouldn't put this above Blair. Or Jack. Or maybe even Natasha. Hell, half the house would probably do something like this to get ahead if they had to. 

"What are we gonna do now?" Jared directed his question at the camera crew who just shrugged in response. They weren't allowed to influence the outcome in any way.

"Hey Jared, it's okay," Jensen said, trying to calm him down. "It's just bad luck. Maybe the others got stuck too. We don't know that we're last." 

Jared just stared at him. "Right. We're not last. Not when it's way past our scheduled finishing time and even the crew just wants to go home." He kicked a rock. "I can't believe this happened...we were supposed to get there first!" 

And yeah, Jared, as the driver, had chosen the route this time even though the venues were a joint decision. So in a way it was his fault. 

Jared stalked away while Jensen looked on helplessly. He hadn't seen Jared angry before. Not like this. And he had absolutely no idea how to handle it. 

"Do you have a phone?" he asked one of the crew. They exchanged glances, then one said, "I'm sorry, dude. We have to pretend we're not here."

"Even when something like this happens," added the other. They really did look sorry and Jensen cursed the rule that meant no cell phones during challenges.

He popped the trunk of the car, looking for the spare tyre. It was either this or try and flag down a taxi, and the backstreet Jared had taken, ostensibly to get them back faster, was frustratingly quiet. 

Ten minutes later, and struggling to undo the lug nuts, Jensen was also swearing under his breath. Whoever had last put the tyre on must've had superhuman strength. He scowled, wondering if Jared was over his tantrum yet. He could use some help.

He wrenched the tool around, hard, and it flipped out of his hand. "Damn," he swore, watching a bruise quickly appear where his thumb had got caught. The tyre still sat there, mocking him. 

"Hey Jared," he shouted into the darkness, "Think I could get some help here?"

No answer.

He twisted again, finally feeling movement, but it took another 20 minutes of sweat, frustration and bruises until he finally got the tyre off. All the while, Jensen grew more and more angry with the fact that Jared wasn't there. So this was how the guy behaved in a crisis? Ugh. For the first time, Jensen found himself wishing he had a different partner.

And now that he thought about it, it was pretty much Jared's fault they'd lost the wedding dress challenge too. Okay, it had been funny, and at the time Jensen had loved being part of the shenanigans. But Misha and Jared had refused to take anything seriously. Had Jared forgotten what was at stake here?

By the time Jared showed up, Jensen was fuming too. 

"Thanks for the help back there," he said sarcastically.

Jared just ignored him. They didn't speak at all on the long drive back to the studio - Jensen driving this time - and Jensen couldn't wait for this day, no, this entire week, to be over.

\---

They were last. Dead last. Jensen was mortified. But wait - and he did a quick headcount of all of the teams there - there was one team missing. Natasha and Clint. Dare he hope they'd failed? But that wasn't possible, they were invariably first!

Maybe they were so far ahead they'd already left and gone home.

"Jared, Jensen, you know what this means," Gretchen said soberly. "By being our last team to arrive, and failing the wedding dress shopping task earlier this week, you are our bottom couple this week and up for eviction."

If he hadn't been so pissed at Jared, he would have reached out for his hand. Not yet. They couldn't go home yet. It was way too early - the show had weeks to go and they weren't even close to winning. 

He didn't want to say anything even though he knew the cameras were waiting for a reaction. He didn't trust himself to speak.

\---

So this was what it was like, being up for eviction. There were just three teams at the studio the next morning - Stiles and Lydia, Ana-Maria and Jack, and Jared and Jensen. The mood was black.

Stiles tried to cheer everyone up. "It's not so bad, guys," he said. "We just do some interviews, get to watch a montage of the previous week, then wait around a lot." Stiles and Lydia had been up for eviction pretty much every week. It wasn't that they were failing the challenges, it was more the lack of chemistry that was their problem. (Or the fact that Lydia pretty much slapped him every time he attempted to steal a kiss.)

"Well, I don't even know what we're even doing here," said Ana-Maria. "I thought the wedding dress I chose was quite beautiful!"

"That's the problem, love," said Jack. "It wasn't." 

Lydia had apparently chosen her dress on her own and completely ditched Stiles for the day, despite his protests that he was a fashion queen. 

As for Jensen, he was worried. The other two teams had been in the bottom three before and been saved by the voting process. It was his and Jared's first time. They had no freaking idea how popular they were at this point. Would anyone vote to save them? Or would this whole ride be over way too soon?

He glanced at Jared. The stress of the past week had got to both of them. They weren't fighting, not exactly, but he couldn't say that Jared was his favourite person in the world right now. 

They had to sit together on stage and during the past few weeks, they’d been sitting closer and closer. This time, Jensen didn’t want to cuddle up to Jared. But how would that look? Would they lose their voting edge? Would their fans decide they were over? He knew he had to suck it up and, well, act, but he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to be dishonest with Jared; even though things were a little strained right now, he still respected the other man far too much than to lie to him.

But hadn’t he been lying all along? Was omission a lie? In a way, Jensen was lying to absolutely everyone. 

The director was still busy setting things up so Jensen buried his face in his hands, just trying to breathe. He wished he’d talked to Jared the previous night, just to clear the air, but Jared had gone straight to bed. And now Gretchen was going to make them talk to each other about everything that had happened.

“Hey Jensen?” Jared was speaking softly, his eyes on the ground, trying not to draw attention to them. “I know this sucks. I just… I’m sorry about this week.”

“Sound check!” yelled the director, interrupting any possibility of a real conversation. Gretchen adjusted her mike and the noise level increased.

Jared tried again. “Look, I know this show is really important to us. We don’t want to go home.” On that, Jensen could agree, even if he didn’t know if dating Jared was a good idea any more. “And something I learned from my-“ and then Jared cut himself off, hesitating before he continued, “Something I learned once is that even if you’re upset with someone, if you hold hands, it helps you get through it.”

Jensen lifted his head and glanced at him. Jared looked so earnest, so honest. Like a puppy who was worried he might get kicked.

“I know you, Jensen, and I know you feel something.” He held out his hand, palm up. “Can you try this with me? Just so we can get through this interview?”

Jensen took Jared’s hand. It was as clammy as his own and he knew it wasn’t just because of the hot stage lights. Part of him wanted to pull back, but Jared was right. There was a reassurance there as they were about to face the gauntlet. Despite everything, they still had each others’ backs.

The live show started with montages of the past week. Jensen cringed as he saw excerpts of the tasks; parts were edited in a way to make it look like they’d been fighting the entire time. “Well boys, you had a tough week!”

Jared gave a rueful smile. “I guess it looks that way, and the truth is, I wasn’t feeling that well and poor Jensen here felt the brunt of that.” 

What? Jared was taking the fall for them? He gave Jared’s hand a gentle squeeze in support. “And hey, no relationship is perfect all the time, right?” Jared gave his best Hollywood smile to Gretchen and the audience. The audience cheered but Gretchen kept stony-faced and glanced at her notes. 

“I have to say, Jared, we were all pretty surprised when you stalked off and left Jensen to do all the work.”

Shrugging, Jared said, “Me too. I’m not usually like that. I just had to walk it off for a bit.” He closed his eyes, then shook his head. “That’s something my Dad taught me, that being angry in front of the people you love hurts them more than you are hurting, and I didn’t want to do that to Jensen.” 

“Awww,” cooed the girls in the front row. 

“What about you, Jensen? Have you forgiven Jared?”

He swallowed, reaching deep inside himself. Trying to find that fine balance between truth and what the audience wanted to hear. “I don’t think there’s anything to forgive. Sure, we had a stressful week, but I dare any couple to handle rush hour traffic and a flat tyre at the same time and come out smiling!”

“I’d be laughing,” quipped Jack from across the stage, “because it means another chance for a beautiful lass to come along and save the day!”

When Ana-Maria shot him a look, he quickly added, “I was of course referring to you, my dear.” 

After the audience quietened down, Gretchen continued to probe. “But it was Jared’s fault that you failed the wedding dress task, wasn’t it?”

“What?”

A clip played on the big screen, of Jared cajoling Jensen into trying on a dress.

Summoning up all of his resolve, Jensen plastered a smile on his face. He may not have liked wearing a dress, but the laughs had been worth it. “I’m glad Jared got me to try that; he helps get me out of my comfort zone.” This time it was Jared squeezing his hand in support. “It may not have turned out the way we planned, but we had a lot of fun that day.”

This time, the montage was more forgiving, and showed the endless laughter between Jared, Jensen and Misha both during the shopping trip and after. There was one point where they were laughing so hard they couldn’t breathe and as he watched it, Jensen felt a little of the weight drop away. Maybe the show wasn’t gonna throw them under a bus after all. Maybe the showrunners were on their side. 

Gratefully, Jensen watched as the attention turned to Stiles and Lydia. Poor Stiles. He was becoming more and more confident with every passing week, but the montage of clips showed at least five instances of his attempts to kiss his girl, with Lydia dodging out of the way every single time. 

“Lydia, Lydia, Lydia,” said Gretchen, “are you ever going to give poor Stiles a break?”

“A lady does not easily give away kisses,” she replied primly.

“We’re starting to think that you don’t even like him!”

“She loves me!” declared Stiles. “She just doesn’t know it yet!”

Half the audience laughed and a few of them cheered. Jensen had to admire his bravado. Sometimes he wondered why Lydia was still playing along, but he’d heard a rumour about her desperately needing the money for college tuition. It made more sense than Stiles being her one true love. The next clip showed Stiles’ inept attempts at making corsages – although given that he was constantly being interrupted by Derek, one could argue it wasn’t really his fault. 

After grilling the couple for a while, Gretchen turned her attention to the remaining pair.

“So, Jack-“

“Captain Jack!” he interrupted.

“Captain Jack,” she sighed. “Can you explain to us just why you thought a run-down, waterlogged boat would make a good location for a wedding reception?”

He smiled, his gold tooth glinting beneath the stage lights. “She reminded me of me old ship, the Black Pearl.”

“Aye, she was beautiful,” added Ana-Maria and for once, the pair seemed in agreement. They smiled at each other, even leaning in for a quick kiss to endless cheers from the audience. Their montage was also hilarious, juxtaposing clips of Jack and Ana-Maria looking blissfully at home with the ocean in the background with shots of cracking wood, frayed ropes and a drunken skipper snoozing in the corner. “That was after I gave him a nip o’ my rum,” Jack added.

It seemed that the pair hadn’t actually failed their tasks this week, but this was the first time they’d demonstrated any enthusiasm for anything, and Jensen realised that was what would ultimately save them. They thought they were pirates and it was some of the best damn performance art Jensen had ever seen.

That meant it was either him and Jared, or Stiles and Lydia, who were going home and as much as he liked the man, he desperately hoped it was Stiles and Lydia who would lose.

“Well folks, it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for.” Gretchen’s voice was hushed. “We’ve tallied the votes and it’s time to reveal just who gets to continue their journey to the altar, and whose romance must end.

“Has Ana-Maria and Jack’s voyage of love reached an ill-fated end?

“Will our two Texan heartthrobs walk alone, after realising they’re not as compatible as we thought they were?

“Or is it time for Stiles to give up on conquering his lady-love and look closer to home instead?”

The music got louder and Jensen’s heart was pounding. He hated this. Absolutely hated this. He was sweating profusely under the hot lights and glancing over at Jared, he could see he wasn’t the only one. Jared’s jaw was locked and he was grimly staring forward.

Even in his moment of tension, he was beautiful. Damn beautiful.

Jensen didn’t want this to end. 

Not when he and Jared were on the outs. Not when they hadn’t even kissed yet (and Jensen knew they would. It was just a matter of time.) They still had so much more to learn about each other, so much more to say, so much more to do. They held hands grimly, breathing, waiting.

“And the couple who will be going home tonight is….”


	2. Chapter 2

A phone rang.

Loudly.

Gretchen faked a look of surprise and reached underneath the couch to pull out an oversized receiver.

“Hello?”  A number of expressions crossed her face – confusion, surprise, and then a mischievous smile.

“Well, that changes things!”

She turned to face the audience.  “It seems we have quite the spanner in the works – Natasha and Clint have left the show!”

The audience erupted in pandemonium.

"That means all three of our couples are safe!" 

The screens filled with a video of Natasha and Clint, filmed against the backdrop of the darkened house.  “We’re sorry to do this so abruptly,” Natasha said, “but we have to leave.”

“Now.” Added Clint.

“We’ll miss you all and good luck!”

Just like that, they vanished.

 

\---

  

"East side, rise and shine!" bubbled Alison as she walked through the house with a loudspeaker.  "It's your turn this week to do something special for your partner!"

Jensen wanted to bury his face in his pillow and shut out the world.  After all of the stress of the past few days, he needed a day off.  Desperately.  But according to his contract, he wasn’t going to get one until…to be honest, he didn’t even know what day it was any more.  It felt like months since he’d arrived in LA.  Weeks since he’d had a day off.  And days since he’d had a chance to call home.

The thought made him sit bolt upright in bed.  What if something happened?  The producers would tell him, surely?  They wouldn’t be so cruel as to keep him in the dark….

He reached for his cell phone, ready to dial his Dad, but his roommates were stirring.  Instead, he sent off a quick text.  “Just saying hi, hope everything is well, will call tonight.”  He hoped he got the chance.

“Hurry up, daylight’s burning!”  Alison was even more annoying than Gretchen.  Jensen hadn’t quite yet figured out when they traded hosting duties on and off, but he figured that at least they got days off.  He dragged himself into the shower – at least with less people in the house, there wasn’t such a line every morning – and managed to make himself somewhat presentable before being dragged to the studio (and straight into make-up, so really, he shouldn’t have bothered at all).

Once they were filming, the ground rules were set out.  “No escapes this time!” Alison waggled a finger in front of Jensen’s nose.  “We want to see every moment of you sweeping your partner off their feet.” She gave them their budget – it was tiny, of course, and encouraged them to get creative.

“Man, this is gonna be tough,” sighed Lee.  “I wanted to take Kara flying in my viper but this won’t even cover the fuel!”

Jensen felt for Lee, he really did.  The guy kept trying and Kara seemed to like him, but she was so hot and cold.  One moment it seemed like they would be the couple to win, the next, she was off laughing with Jared or Derek and ignoring Lee altogether.

He pulled Lee aside. “Listen, I had a great idea a couple of weeks ago and it turns out that I don’t actually need any money to pull it off.”  Lee looked at him quizzically.  “So you can use all of my share of the funds.”

“Seriously?”  It was totally worth it, seeing the grin on Lee’s face.

“Totally serious.  Now get outta here and go make your girl happy!”

Lee took off, practically skipping.  All of the others had already dashed off, cameras following them, as they headed out for a day of planning.  Whereas all Jensen needed was a quiet studio space.

He was going to write Jared a song.

 

\---

“So I’ve been working on this for a while now,” he said softly to his audience of one.  Jared was sitting in the front row and Jensen was alone on the stage with his guitar and a mike.  It shouldn’t have been so intimidating but it was, because the song was from Jensen’s heart.  (And as much as he tried to forget about it, the cameras were always filming.)

“And when they asked me today to do something special for you, well, I knew this was the moment.”  He strummed a few chords.  “We had a really rough week but through all of that, I still wanted to be around you.”  To his surprise, this was actually easier than he thought it would be.  Telling Jared how he felt while Jared was sitting there in the dark.  He couldn’t meet his eyes or touch him, or be distracted by the man’s overwhelming presence.  He was safe here with his guitar and his own thoughts.  

Finally, things were quiet enough both in his own head and on set for him to be able to say all that he wanted to say.

“When I met you, you made me smile.  
When I met you, you took my hand and made me laugh.

You make me feel safe, you make me feel loved.

And I’m loving this journey with you.”

The words were simple, but heartfelt.  The music filled the auditorium, allowing Jensen to get carried away by the song; it was moments like this when he felt truly at peace.  This was the stage he belonged on, where things were real.

“I don’t know where we’re going but I know I want to be with you.

And even if the times get rough, I know we’ll see it through.

Because everything changed, that first day, that moment….when I met you.”

 

Jensen’s voice cracked on the last note.  He’d put everything into the song, raw truth, raw honesty.  He didn’t even know if it was good or not and the silence in the studio was deafening.  What did Jared think?  Did he know that the song had been written specifically for him?  And that the words had come more easily than any of his recent songs?

The chair creaked and suddenly, Jared was emerging from the darkness and towards him.  Tears were shining in his eyes.  “Jen, that was…God, I don’t even know.”

Still holding his breath, Jensen asked, “So…you liked it?”  He placed the guitar down, stepped away from the microphone. 

Instead of answering with words, Jared lifted one hand to Jensen’s chin, tilted his head, and captured Jensen’s lips in a soft kiss.

It lasted a moment.  Or an eternity. Jensen couldn’t tell; all he was aware of was the feeling of Jared’s mouth on his, and something deep inside his heart that was whispering, “Finally”.  And when they broke apart and stared at each other, Jensen discovered that both pairs of eyes were bright with unspoken emotion.

They stood there, beneath the spotlights, holding hands until the producers came out to chase them away. 


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Jensen couldn’t stop grinning.  Not when the producers corralled them all into a room and demanded they play spin-the-bottle (because apparently there hadn’t been nearly enough kissing on the show). Not when Blair and Lydia made out for 5 minutes (although come to think of it, everyone had been cheering for that).  Not even when he had to watch Kara kiss Jared. 

It didn’t matter any more because Jared had kissed _him_. 

He kept replaying the moment over and over in his head.  And giving Jared shy glances across the room.  He felt like he was back in high school, in the throes of a new crush.  Which was crazy because he felt like he knew Jared so well by now, but one kiss had managed to change everything.

In some ways, it didn’t feel like a game any more.  Somehow, it was becoming real.

“Jen!  You’re up!” He hadn’t even noticed the bottle pointing towards him – who had spun it?  It turned out to be Dell, who gave him a demure smile and kissed him on the cheek.  (The producers weren’t going to be happy about that, but Dell had very old-fashioned dating values and didn’t give away meaningless kisses).  Jensen’s own spin landed him on Stiles.  He’d tried to give it that extra little twist so that it landed on Jared, but maybe it was for the best that it didn’t. He didn’t think he’d be able to control his own blush if he had to kiss Jared in front of everyone.

Mmm.  Kissing Jared.  But no, right now, he had to kiss Stiles, so he gave the younger man a quick peck on the lips.  Stiles raised his arm in a fist-pump.  “Yes!” he said.  “I finally kissed someone on this show!”

Everyone was laughing as Stiles spun; the bottle twirling wickedly fast.  Stiles had positioned himself opposite Lydia, trying to give himself the best chance, but the bottle slowed and then stopped right between Ana-Maria and Derek.

Ana-Maria nudged the bottle with her foot. 

No one seemed to care about her blatant cheating because Stiles had gone bright red and Derek was looking at the ceiling and it seemed most of the girls – Blair, Lydia, Kara and Ana-Maria – were smirking in delight. 

The kiss between Stiles and Derek was… well, interesting.  And oddly hot.  It went on for just a little too long before the two men retreated to opposite sides of the circle.  Then Derek spun Kate, who refused to kiss him and stalked out of the room, ending the game there.

“Hey, I didn’t get to kiss anyone!” protested Jack.

“That’s because you don’t brush your teeth!” shot back Ana-Maria.  “No one wants to kiss you!”

“My breath tastes like minty-fresh rum!” he countered.

Jensen smiled at the duelling pirates, then met Jared’s eyes across the room.  Without words, they both got up and headed outside into the warm evening air. 

“Do you think they’re for real?” Jensen asked.  He didn’t really care about the answer; he just wanted to talk to Jared.

“I think they think they’re real,” he answered. “Jack’s not quite all there, though.  I wonder if he really does own a ship.”

“If he does, I hope we get to see it sometime.”

“Me too.”

Jensen turned, and found himself face-to-face with Jared, standing closer than was necessary.  Did Jared mean that?  Wanting to do something with Jensen after the show?  This was the first time they’d actually mentioned doing something together beyond all this.  “You know, it’s weird.  I came on this show thinking only about meeting someone I could fall in love with, but I think I’ve ended up with 22 new friends.”

“Only 22?” teased Jared.  “And what does that make me?  Your not-friend?”  It was amazing how Jared could switch from adorable innocence to smouldering sexiness in an instant. 

“Well, the thoughts I’ve been having today are definitely…friendly.”

Jared reached out, hooked his fingers into the waist loops on Jensen’s jeans, and pulled him closer.  It was a slow, sexy motion and Jensen’s heart started beating faster.  “You wanna keep being friendly with me?”

Breathlessly, Jensen whispered, “Yeah,” as his mouth was claimed in another soft kiss, one a thousand times better than the kiss he’d just shared with Stiles.  He felt himself growing hard, pushing his hips forward, letting himself be engulfed by Jared’s arms.  Their bodies pressed together, endless kisses, and now Jared’s tongue was in his mouth and he had almost forgotten that the cameras were there.

Almost.

Breathing hard, Jensen forced himself to pull back.  “I don’t want to stop,” he whispered, as softly as he could, “but my mom is watching this.”

Jared, who had initially seemed upset, minutely relaxed.  “Yeah, I…”  He seemed to be having trouble speaking.  “I get it.”

This sucked.  Because all Jensen wanted to do was kiss him more and more.  Maybe they could sneak into the bathroom later that night.  Maybe they could find a dark closet somewhere. 

Or maybe Jensen could suck it up, remember this was a _game_ , and not get carried away.  Even though he wanted to. 

 

\---

 

"Welcome to another episode of Marry Me!"  The music blared as the montage of faces filled the screen.  "Last week we said goodbye to Kara and Lee.  They seemed like a match made in heaven, but when it came down to it, they just didn't quite connect."  A quick replay showed a teary Lee listening as Kara told him that she was not what he needed. 

"Tonight we have a shock revelation for all of the contestants.  Everyone has a few skeletons in the closet, and it's not something we like to share with anyone.  Least of all our new romantic interest."  Gretchen's voice dropped lower, and she beckoned the camera closer.  "And no one knows your secrets quite like your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend."  Winking, she continued.  "Tonight's theme is... Meet The Ex!"

 

\---

 

"Today, contestants, we have a very special surprise for you." 

Of course they did.  Every day on this freakin' show was a surprise.  With the loss of Kara and Lee, Jensen was feeling a little down.  They’d been fun.  Much more fun than some of the other insufferable contestants.  If he had to spend one more morning waiting for Blair or Kate to get out of the bathroom, he was gonna lose it.

"One by one, each team is going to get introduced to a very special person.  Or two.  Someone that one of you knows very well." 

After the obligatory shots of them all pretending to be intrigued (yeah, Jensen was feeling more than a little cynical at this point), they were sent to the green room to wait their turn.  One of the ADs gave them strict instructions to stay there and not ruin the surprise, promising them they could of course watch the footage later.

Surprise.  Yeah right.  Was anything on this show ever a good surprise?

After what seemed an interminable wait, it was finally Jared and Jensen's turn.

"Are you boys ready to meet your special guest?"

It wasn't like they could say no, so Jensen just nodded.  Wondering who they had in store for them.  A family member?  (No, because family visit were scheduled for later in the show.  That one they _did_ know about because it required quite a bit of planning.)  An old friend?  An old flame?

Jensen's stomach began to sink as he realised, yes, that had to be it.  Someone from his past complete with a whole bunch of embarrassing stories.  Who was it gonna be?  His first girlfriend?  His first male hook-up?  His....

But before he finished the thought, the door opened, and for once it wasn't Jensen in the firing line.  It was a tiny brunette and Jared looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Jensen grabbed onto his arm.  "You okay?"  Jared looked like he was going to be sick.  It was the first time Jensen had seen the other man lost for words, and wow, that was actually something he didn't think was possible.

The girl stared at Jared, a thousand-year stare.  She finally managed a smile.  "Hi Jared."

Jared was still speechless.

"Aren't you gonna give me a hug?"  She walked across the stage and gently embraced him, nudging Jensen out of the way.  Jared's arms automatically surrounded her and she snuggled into his shoulder, like she'd done it a thousand times before.  Like she belonged there.

Finally, Jared spoke, and it was just a name.  "Sandy!"

The audience was surprisingly quiet as they watched the reunion.  Jensen felt more and more uncomfortable.  "Hey Jay, aren't you gonna introduce us?"

Jared still looked like he wasn't aware that they were on stage, and fumbled, "Oh.  Yeah.  Um... Jensen, this is Sandy.  Sandy, this is Jensen."  Jensen shook her hand, trying to size her up.  An ex-girlfriend, obviously, but how could she cause such a reaction?  Everything Jensen knew of Jared had been so carefree.  He was obviously single and looking (he had to be, to audition for the show).  There was nothing about him that even suggested he had been hurt in the past. 

Then again, didn't everyone have that one love, that one person that you could never quite get over, no matter how many years had passed?

"How do you feel, Jared, seeing Sandy again?" prompted Gretchen.  Obviously all of this staring wasn't exactly the riveting television they wanted it to be.

"Well, stunned, I guess."  He couldn't stop looking at her.  "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

She smiled shyly.  "I know, Jare, I know.  But after I saw you on tv, I began to remember all of the awesome things about you, and then the show got in touch, and well, here I am!"  Jensen studied her, seeing both nerves and defiance.  And more than a little possessiveness, given how closely she continued standing next to Jared. 

Gretchen encouraged them to sit down and wasn't that fun, three of them squished onto a couch, Jared in the middle.  There was another chair but there was no way Jensen was leaving Jared's side right now. 

"How long has it been, Jared?"  This was Gretchen again, with her sneaky questions.

"Um...six months, I guess."

Six months.  Jensen quickly calculated in his head.  That was, what, a month or so before he'd met Jared at the auditions? 

Damn.  Had Jared signed up to try and get over a broken heart?

"Six months since you broke off your engagement.  And now here you are, together again."

Engaged?  Shit, it just got worse and worse every minute and Jensen knew that his face was showing every single emotion.  He thought about faking a coughing fit but that would probably just make his reaction seem even more dire. 

"Jared, part of my reason for coming here tonight was so that I could apologise to you."  Sandy took his hands and looked deeply into his eyes.  "I'm sorry I gave the ring back.  I'm sorry I never told you I was having doubts.  I'm sorry for running away without actually talking to you."

Jared continued to stare at her incredulously.  "And you're telling me this _now_?" 

Jensen was thinking the exact same thing.  She couldn't have waited until after the show?  When they were off-air and had a little privacy? 

"If I waited much longer, it would be too late."  She hung her head.  "You'd be engaged to Jensen already."  Sandy grasped Jared's chin, forced him to face her, so that his entire attention was focussed on her and Jensen was deliberately ignored. 

Her voice trembling, she said, "I just want you to know...I'm willing to talk again.  If you think we even have the slightest chance of being together."

Jared was still speechless.

"Well, Jensen, what do you think of that?"

He was angry.  Really, really angry.  Who did this Sandy think she was, springing this on Jared?  Even though he and Jared weren't real-world dating, he still felt remarkably protective of the other man.  Wanted to leap to his defence. 

But showing anger wasn't going to help the situation right now.

"I want the best for Jared," he said carefully, "and I think what's best for him right now is a little privacy so he can get his head straight."  He drew his mouth into a tight line. 

"Jared?"

"I - I'm surprised," he said.  To Jensen's satisfaction, he pulled back from Sandy and leaned back into the couch.  He didn't look at either of his suitors but kept his attention straight ahead, on Gretchen.  "I've spent the last six months trying to forget about Sandy and then she's suddenly here?"  He shook his head, like he still couldn't believe it. 

"Well, Jared, we're going to give you and Sandy the chance to get reacquainted over dinner.  That is, if you both want to."

Sandy smiled hugely.  "Of course I want to." 

"Jensen?"

It was Jared asking him, and Jensen felt a small glimmer of...hope?  Or was it satisfaction that even though Jared owed him nothing, there was still that loyalty?

"Do it, Jared," he said, and put his hand on Jared's knee.  It was meant to be a comforting gesture, but yeah, there was a little possessiveness behind it.  "It sounds like you guys need to talk it out.  Clear the air.  Get some closure."  Okay, the last line was pushing it a bit, but even if it wasn't a competition for Jared's affections, any fool could see that the man desperately needed something like that.

"Thanks, man," Jared replied.  His hand closed over Jensen's, squeezing lightly.  "Just...thanks."

"You can thank me later," and Jensen waggled his eyebrows, trying to lighten the mood.  It worked, momentarily, because the hint of a genuine smile appeared on Jared's face as Gretchen started wrapping things up, telling them to stay tuned for the next surprise reunion!

Fantastic.  Jensen could hardly wait.


	4. Chapter 4

Numbly, Jensen watched the monitor as the remaining couples got to 'Meet The Ex'.  Some were fairly boring, either the competitors were too young to have someone interesting in their past, or the ex in question had said no.  Natasha and Clint (back for one last appearance, by special request!) turned out to have both slept with a guy called Tony - the whole scenario had the potential to go extremely badly, but by the end of the scene Tony had convinced both of them that a threesome was a fabulous idea and they all walked off stage together, arm in arm.  

John and Dell were next, and Jensen watched in horror as the woman behind the door was introduced as "John's wife."

"I thought you were dead!" he gasped in shock, and almost fainted live on tv.

 

As for Captain Jack, well, it turned out that he didn't exactly have an ex.  It was more like he had a current girlfriend.  Or several.  Gretchen pumped up the audience while Jack stood there, quakin' in his booties.   

Amidst the screaming, doors opened across the stage.

"Oh no," said Jack, as he caught sight of a raven haired beauty wearing a pirate hat. "Oh, no no no no no. Not good."  He began backing away from the centre of the stage.

The next door opened, showing another beauty.  "Jack Sparrow!  You left me in Tortugas 7 months ago!"

A blonde stepped out.  "You promised there was no one else!"

Two women dressed as barmaids stepped onto stage together.  One was holding a baby. 

"Not good, not good!" 

Jack turned... and ran.

The first girl chased him across stage, brandishing a sword.  "You told me you'd be faithful!" she shouted.  "You told me you'd meet me in Bermuda!  I've been waiting there three months and imagine my surprise when I turned on the US Television station to see you on the screen!"  Despite her pirate attire, she had a remarkably posh accent and Jensen knew he'd see the whole story later.

"I swear, Jack Sparrow, I will END you!"

It was really no surprise when Ana-Maria joined the other women in the chase, her own sword in hand.

 

\---

 

The house was quiet that night.  Jack and Ana-Maria were long gone and Jensen doubted if he'd see either of them again.  As for the rest, it seemed that few had come through the day's events unscathed.  Most had been given the opportunity to either go on one last date with their ex, or allow the ex and the new partner to sit down together and trade dirt on the person in question. 

This was crazy.  Absolutely crazy.  Yet it made sense - of course the top twelve would have been not only interesting, photogenic people, but people with a few skeletons in the closet as well.  There was nothing like drama!

Chilled, Jensen realised they probably knew his secret too.  Was that gonna end up on national television?  Turning something so private and personal into a farce? 

Hell, there had been no respect for Jared's secrets. 

Jared wasn't back yet.  He was still at the studio, or maybe at dinner, talking to Sandy.  Jensen wandered through the house, looking for someone to talk to.  He ended up in the games room, where Derek seemed to be teaching Stiles how to play pool, given that he was leaning practically on top of him in an attempt to line up the perfect shot.   They jumped apart when Jensen said, "Hey guys,"; Stiles managing to hit himself in the head with the butt of the pool cue.

"Hey," grunted Derek. He was oddly flushed.

Stiles was still swearing under his breath but he managed to wave.

"So what happened to you guys tonight?" Jensen asked.  They'd been amongst the first to meet their exes.

Derek shrugged.  "It was okay.  We got off lightly." 

Having recovered, Stiles added, "It was pretty funny, Lydia told me after that all of her exes would've never _dared_ show up like that."  He paused.  "She kinda scares me sometimes.  Anyway, the only ex they could find was a girl from middle school who I kissed on the cheek when Scott dared me to, and I can't believe that she remembers that!"  He laughed to himself.  "So Lydia took her out to dinner for a girls' night."

Stiles seemed surprisingly okay with that. 

"And Kate?" Derek seemed fine too, and Jensen hoped it wasn't a sore subject.

"Out with her ex-boyfriend."

"Ouch."

Shrugging again, Derek said, "I don't really care."  And it honestly seemed like he didn't.  Jensen looked at him, reflecting that although Derek and Kate had been hot and heavy at the start, lately, there had been more distance between them.  Huh.

"We saw what happened to Jared, though."  Stiles looked genuinely concerned.  "That was really rough.”

Jensen lifted up his hands in mock surrender.  "What could I do?  I'm actually kind of glad it happened, because if Jared wasn't over her yet, this whole relationship thing was never gonna work."  Looking at his competitors, he realised that all three of them were very unlikely to win at this point in time.  Not one of them was in anything even resembling a real, lasting relationship right now.  Poor Stiles hadn't yet realised that Lydia was just humouring him even though the rest of the world could see it. 

As for Jared and himself, well, maybe this was one of the things that had been blocking them.  It was a good reminder that they both had secrets.  Even though he thought he knew Jared, he didn’t really.  He knew the show-Jared.  The persona crafted for TV.  Maybe he didn’t know the real Jared at all.

Dell walked quietly into the room with her customary grace.  Now if there was a person who had been blindsided by the show's stunt, it had to be her.  Because any fool could see that she and John had actually been falling in love and now there was a wife in the mix.

"Dell!  Are you doing okay?"

She smiled sadly.  "I have come to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" burst out Stiles.  "You mean they're kicking you off the show?"  Given that bigamy was illegal, it seemed there were some lines the show wouldn't cross.  Poor Dell had been through so much – she was their only transgender contestant and it had been played up as scandalous when John was told this, but he just didn’t care.  (Which is why he and Dell deserved to win, they might have been in the game, but they were above the game.)

"No," she said softly.  "They told me that they will give John the opportunity to divorce Anna and stay on, but over the past few months I have come to know John, and how loyal he is."  She sighed.  "He told me about Anna, you know.  He told me how much he had loved her and how it broke his heart when she died.

"Coming on this show was part of his new life, his new philosophy to try new things and never say no to anything."  

Jensen nodded, wondering if that was Jared's reasoning again.

"But if Anna is alive, he owes it to her to be her husband again.  He owes it to himself to try."  Dell's eyes filled with tears as she spoke of the man she loved.

"What about you?" Stiles asked, looking quite upset.  They were all sad for her.  Dell was one of the few truly selfless people in the house.  She'd immigrated to America on her own and a big part of her "Marry Me!" experience was to become familiar with her new country.  (And getting a role on television made the green card process a lot more streamlined, she'd confided to Jensen earlier.)

"I will be fine," she said serenely.  "If John and I are not meant to be, then this is the universe's way of telling us so.  Better sooner rather than later."  Her words didn't quite hide the anguish in her voice.  "But I cannot stay here."

She gave them all a quick hug before asking them to pass on her farewell to everyone else.  "I will miss you all," she said.

Then she was gone.

 

It was a very lonely night for all of them, especially Jensen, who couldn't help but wonder if it was his last night on the show too.


End file.
